Below, you will find saving tips and general information regarding the toner consumption of laser printers:

1.The printer uses all the colors when calibrating or when you restart the printer. We, therefore, recommend you not to turn off the printer every time when you don't need to print.
2.Even when in standby modus the printer calibrating at regular intervals to check the toner status. This operations consume toner.
3.When printing monochrome, we recommend you to switch to âmonochrome printâ (greyscale) in the printer settings. Otherwise, the printer automatically adds the other colors and mixes them together to get the black color.
4.Yellow toner is used for every single print in order to print the manufacturer's mark (barely visible to the naked eye). These marks are a subsequent identification according to the agreement between printer manufacturers and "secret services" worldwide.
5.In general, more toner is used when processing individual print jobs than for jobs that consist of several pages.
6.Almost all common colors are so-called secondary colors. This means that e. g. for a green print both cyan and yellow (mostly even magenta) are used in a certain mixing ratio. Accordingly, all colors are consumed.
7.The calculation of printed pages is based on 5 % coverage per A4-page. This means that once a picture or graphic with more than 5 % coverage is printed, the pages are no longer counted separately, but in percentage terms.
In practice: If you print pictures with a coverage of 10Â % per sheet, the printer counts two pages per print. This information is later saved on the chip. Depending on the coverage printed, the chip calculates the remaining capacity of the cartridge.

Example:
The toner cartridge has a capacity of 1.000 pages. The first five pages are printed with a coverage of 10Â %.
Theoretically, the printer status should now indicate that there is a remaining capacity of only 490 prints, because it assumes that the following prints are printed with the same coverage. However, this data is calculated and updated regularly.
Unfortunately, this calculation is only correct in theory. As these updates are made at specific intervals, it is quite possible that the indicated toner status abruptly drops.
In addition to this, most cartridges dispose of a toner level sensor which determines the exact toner status and/or how many prints can be made with this quantity of toner. Each time the printer calibrates, the sensor transmits this information to the chip. The capacity calculated by the chip is thus updated and adjusted in the display.

last updated - 2010-11-08 13:35:00

2. Does the print quality change after refilling the cartridge?

In general, the quality does not change. Differences are only visible on close inspection or in a direct comparison of prints before and after the refilling. And even these differences are only small changes in the color shade which can be adapted by some settings in the printer menu.

last updated - 2011-01-17 16:46:05

3. Is the warranty void if I use toner powder / remanufactured cartridges?

The warranty claim does not expire no matter if you use original or compatible printer equipment or even refill the cartridge.
For example, printer manufacturer Hewlett-Packard writes explicitly in the own warranty terms: "The use of cartridges or consumables of other manufacturers or rather of refilled cartridges does not impair the service feature." Other printer manufacturers may not put it that clearly but there are no clauses that can void the warranty when using compatible cartridges.
Exception: In case the printer manufacturer can clearly demonstrate that a damage was caused by non-original material, it may be legally critical. E.Â g. HP says: "If the printer error or damage of the device is due to the use of cartridges or consumables of other manufacturers or rather of refilled cartridges, HP will charge the service costs (labor time, material etc.) for the repair and the error recovery at the valid conditions of HP."
As a sign of goodwill, however, the technicians sometimes turn a blind eye when they find non-original cartridges and abandon - presumably for reasons of time â with appropriate tests. However, make sure, that you do not handle the material careless, as carelessness â even with regard to original products â is a reason to disclaim warranty.

last updated - 2011-01-17 16:47:37

4. Is it possible to refill initial cartridges?

The initial cartridges are those which are inside the printer when buying it. They are filled with a small quantity of toner. Most of these cartridges can be refilled without any problem.
However, the cartridges of the OKI C3000 and C5000 series are an exception which cannot be refilled due to their special technical construction. We, therefore, recommend you to buy a second set of cartridges (original or compatible) which can be refilled later.

Some printer types â e. g. Lexmar C520 series â have initial cartridges which can only be refilled with a small quantity of toner. In this case, you should not fill the whole toner into the cartridge at once but do it in several steps.

last updated - 2011-01-17 16:49:13

5. How many times can I refill a cartridge?

The answer to this question mainly depends on the type of cartridge but also on the age and the print quality before refilling.
In general:
1.Cartridges with an inbuilt OPC-drum should only been refilled once as these parts are particularly affected by wear.
2.Cartridges with an inbuilt developer roller should not been refilled more than three times. In case there are scratches or other marks on the roller, we do not recommend to refill the cartridge again.
Please note: If you stock this cartridge too long, it is possible that the gum of the roller hardens and the prints are not satisfactory.
3.In case there are any leaks on the cartridge so that toner falls out, we disadvise the refilling.

last updated - 2011-01-17 16:49:53

6. Why do I need a chip?

Almost all manufacturers of original cartridges install a so-called reset chip for the identification of the printer model on the one hand, and for the limitation of numbers of printed pages on the other hand.

That is to say, every time you refill your cartridge, you have to replace the chip so that the printer can recognise it as a new / refilled one.

In general it is such that the cartridge is still displayed as empty and the printer does not print if you do not replace the chip. Most of the cartridges without a chip have a mechanical gadget which serves as a substitute for the chip.

Lately, more and more printer models come into the market, where the intial cartridge (comes with the printer) does not have a chip. In such cases, the refilling of such an initial cartridge is not possible since the chip cannot be retrofitted.

last updated - 2011-01-17 16:50:44

7. Is it possible to use up the remaining toner in the cartridge by only replacing the chip?

Some people suppose that in the majority of cases it is sufficient to only replace the chip of the cartridge (without refilling) in order to use up the remaining toner. But this theory is only in very few cases applicable and depends on if there is still enough toner inside the cartridge. Mostly, the toner cartridges are, however, protected by an additional sensor which detects the current toner level and saves this information on the chip. If the remaining toner in the cartridge is not sufficient for further printing, the sensor blocks the chip. In that case, the chip is irretrievably âdamagedâ and will display an empty cartridge even after refilling. We, therefore, always recommend a complete refilling including a chip replacement.